Chapter 23
A utopia in the apocalypse.
After hearing An Kang's account, Fatty Lei sighed. "It's hard to imagine. The apocalypse started less than five days ago, and some people have already turned into demons."
An Kang hadn't gone into much detail, but Fatty Lei had read plenty of post-apocalyptic novels. His words alone were enough for Fatty Lei to picture the horrors in that camp.
Lu Li frowned as well. Having a neighbor like that was bad news for the Survivor Camp as it stood.
The only good news was that, judging by the current situation, Anke Camp probably wasn't their deadliest threat yet.
But then another thought struck him.
Lu Li thought of Jun Shutong, that woman with an overwhelming sense of justice.
If she found out what was happening at Anke Camp, she would undoubtedly rush off to right those wrongs.
Lu Li warned Fatty Lei, "Don't tell Sister Jun about this yet. You know what she's like. If she finds out about Anke Camp, she'll definitely take people over to rescue those survivors-or even go alone."
Fatty Lei's eyes flickered. After briefly weighing it up, he nodded solemnly.
Like Lu Li, he didn't want the camp to get a new leader.
If something happened to Jun Shutong over there, Lu Li would definitely take over. The thought of how shrewd Lu Li was, and how he kept using him as bait, sent a chill down Fatty Lei's spine.
Following a leader like that would be too exhausting, so he chose to keep this secret.
"You all need to keep this quiet too. Hide it for as long as you can. Sister Jun is too kind. If she finds out what's happening over at Anke, she'll definitely intervene," Fatty Lei warned An Kang and his family.
An Kang immediately nodded and promised, "Rest assured. We won't say a word about Anke Camp."
An Kang had interacted briefly with Jun Shutong and had met her a few times before the apocalypse. He knew her character well, and he didn't want her risking her life for the people at Anke Camp either.
Seeing how cooperative he was, Lu Li took a closer look at the man before him.
An Kang wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked refined, but he was also the sort who looked slim in clothes and muscular without them.
It was clear that An Kang exercised regularly. He had taken good care of himself too, leading Lu Li to suspect that he had been a successful man before the apocalypse.
Unlike the other two residential communities, Anke Residential Community had a cluster of villas. That meant An Kang's family had likely been either wealthy or influential before the apocalypse.
Lu Li asked curiously, "Mr. An, what did you do before the Magical Beasts arrived?"
An Kang answered with great modesty, "I was a branch manager at the Federation Bank."
"A management professional, then?" Lu Li mused.
"Take him to Sister Jun later. Isn't she planning to introduce a contribution points system in the camp? Mr. An should have plenty of experience in that area," Lu Li told Fatty Lei.
Lu Li genuinely admired An Kang. The fact that he had brought his entire family here safely during the apocalypse showed that luck was on his side.
Most importantly, six days had passed since the Pokémon arrived in this world, yet his family was still intact. That would have been impossible without a fair bit of luck.
His ability to use Machoke to get his family out also showed that An Kang was clever. Together with the money he had brought, that was what persuaded Lu Li to give him a helping hand.
The camp needed more clever people, especially clever people like An Kang, who had a family in tow and therefore something to lose.
Fatty Lei understood immediately. Knowing that Lu Li wanted to give An Kang a leg up, he readily agreed.
An Kang kept his expression neutral when he heard this, but a barely perceptible glimmer of joy flashed in his eyes.
Compared with An Kang's excellent control of his expressions, Liu Li was much more open. She immediately guessed that her husband was about to be entrusted with an important role, and an irrepressible smile spread across her face.
"All right, I need to get back to my research. Let's leave it here for now." With that, Lu Li turned and left.
After returning to his little lodging, Lu Li continued feeding Feebas.
Although Feebas's eyes had become considerably brighter, the Pokémon still looked rather vacant.
Still, there was progress. Whenever he offered food, Feebas's eyes would lift slightly.
That tiny movement was nothing to scoff at. It was actually a very encouraging improvement. Previously, Feebas would only open its mouth once the food reached its lips. Before that, the little Pokémon showed practically no reaction to being fed.
Once he had fed Feebas enough, Lu Li lifted it out of the tank again.
He wasn't sure whether he was imagining it, but getting Feebas out seemed much easier this time.
Previously, the little Pokémon had liked staying at the bottom of the tank when he tried to lift it out. Now, though, Feebas knew to float up on its own.
"Looks like you enjoy this part too. But that makes sense. A silly little fish like you wouldn't turn down a chance to become beautiful, would you?" Lu Li murmured softly.
Lu Li deliberately avoided calling Feebas an ugly fish in its presence. After all, given the choice between being a little ugly and a little silly, Feebas would probably rather accept being silly.
As he groomed Feebas, Lu Li kept talking, teaching it the language of this world.
He didn't know whether it would help, but it cost him nothing to try, so he did it without hesitation.
Once he finished grooming Feebas, Lu Li put it back in the tank.
He glanced at the clock beside the fish tank and saw that it was only 13:00. He decided to find Jun Shutong and see whether they could go out to gather supplies together that day.
When Lu Li reached Jun Shutong's office, she was discussing the contribution points system with An Kang.
Seeing Lu Li come in, Jun Shutong immediately stood and greeted him warmly. "Lu Li, come here. Let me introduce you."
"This is An Kang. Before the Magical Beasts arrived, he was a branch manager in the Federation's New District."
Looking at the still somewhat airheaded Jun Shutong, Lu Li reminded her, "Mr. An and I have already met. Did you forget? I was the one who recommended him."
"Uh... right, I remember now. You've already met." Jun Shutong smiled sheepishly.
Lu Li could only shake his head helplessly before asking, "So? Have you worked out the contribution points system?"
"We have, but we still need to run a trial. During that trial, we'll also need to keep revising any parts that are likely to cause problems," An Kang explained as simply as he could.
Jun Shutong said politely, "Sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble. I'm happy to do my part for the camp," An Kang said earnestly.
This wasn't mere politeness; he meant it from the bottom of his heart. With his experience at Anke Camp as a point of comparison, the camp Jun Shutong had established was better by far.
Although its rules and regulations still needed work, at least everyone here was still treated like a human being. That was something he hadn't even dared to imagine before.
Jun Shutong in particular was practically a saint descended to earth compared with Wang Dazhuang next door-the best of good people.